Musings, ramblings and thought provoking articles from our team of talented writers - all views expressed are their own!
So, Ireland is having a problem with school patronage. Currently, about 90 percent of state-funded primary schools are controlled by the Catholic Church. By “controlled by,” I mean that the Church decides admissions policies, who to hire to teach and administrate, and, perhaps most worryingly, the curriculum. Last year (and, unfortunately, several other times), the U.N. noted […]
The tiny house movement is becoming a big thing in many places, including this wee island. The same dynamics are at play in Ireland as elsewhere. Post-Celtic tiger Ireland faces not a shortage of housing, but a shortage of affordable, available housing at the same time unemployment and the cost of living are quite high. […]
For Irish descendants living outside of the republic, there exists an opportunity to get a dose of fresh, Irish culture without having to go very far. The city of Chicago has a unique Irish Heritage Center which was once an elementary school. It’s conversion into a base for Irish culture has helped it to take on an […]
I’ll be the first to say I have heard of Irish stereotypes for as long as I can remember. I guess what mostly entered my consciousness was that Irish people were shorter, red-haired and friendly. So far, this is not offensive but, it does give a generalization or a stereotype of what people might think of […]
This week, Ireland passed a law that allows transgender men and women to change their legal gender to match their gender identity as they see fit, instead of it being determined (invasively) by the state or a doctor. It becomes only the third European country to do this, after Denmark (2014) and Malta (April 2015). […]
For most people, genealogy is a fun hobby. Stumbling blocks pop up, but they are more intriguing than painful. Searching for your roots is like solving a mystery, but with very low stakes. Sure, you might find something scandalous, but odds are it is generations back and no one today is very upset about it. […]
Ireland has a census with family information. However, the census is only effective from the year 1901. Before the census, if people wanted to list who they were and who they were related to, they would go see the parish register. What is even more perplexing is that many of Ireland’s citizens from the last […]
I have never really thought about making a t.v. show about what to do if ever in a certain area on a layover. But, now that I think about it, there have been many times in my life where I ended up in airports either I had not originally intended to go to or for […]
So, there’s this vile man, Magnus Meyer Hustveit. He raped his then girlfriend, Niamh Nic Dhomhnail, several times while she was sleeping and unable to give consent. This week in Dublin, he was convicted (he pleaded guilty) and given a sentence of 7 years. But then the judge suspended the whole thing. Which means that […]
If you have visited Dublin, you have probably seen the General Post Office, more commonly known as the GPO, on O’Connell Street, where the 1916 Uprising leaders fought. Did you know the pillars in front still have the nicks from bullets fired during that battle? Most likely you have seen the statues of heroic leaders […]
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